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First title in 2008

20.04.2008 | Tennis

Roger began his clay season with success as he won his first title of 2008 with a 7-6 (7-5), 1-2 victory as Nikolay Davydenko retired injured at the Estoril Open on Sunday. Our star improved his record against the world number four Russian to a perfect 12-0 as he won only their third encounter on clay.

"It's great to win a title, it's fantastic," said Roger. "This will give me great confidence for the rest of the season having won my first clay tournament of the year."

The victory was his seventh on the surface and was obtained in challenging, blustery conditions."These were the most difficult of the week," said the Swiss holder of 12 Grand Slam titles. "It was cold as well as windy. This is not the best way to win a match and I'm sorry for Nikolay. But sometimes these things happen."

I'm extremely excited for you. I knew you would pull through eventually. But more than the win, I'm just glad you kept trying and never gave up. Keep up the good work. The road may be difficult still, but keep your eyes on your goal an